News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-04-28
RlSSANESS DOUBLE LIFE,
VAST THE MYSTERY CLEARED
AWAY,
Remarkable History ora New York
Forger 1ho Became % Maa OF
Standing ID California.
from tie New York sun.l

Argument 10 squash the indictment
found IN 1854 against William kissane
for forgery On the Chemical National
Bank was continued before Recorder
Smyth. The motion 10 squash was
made by Lawyer ]. B. Hart Of Gonoma,
California, in which State Kissane is
nov living. kissane committed two
torgegies on the bank or the same day
and under the same circumstances.
Two indictments were found against
BIN, but they were virtually single act.
he was tried, convicted, and sentenced
70 State prison On one o? the injict-
Nlents, and was afterwerd pardoned by
che Governor. His counsel sets forth
that the mornl effect Of the pardon ex-
tended 10 the indictment upon which he
was not tried, ard that the indictment
should be squashed.
The case derives interest from the
fact that after he was pardoned Kissane
went TO California, where he assumed
another name, reformed his life, and has
finally acquired wealth and social and
political standing. The story of Kis-
sanes life is very remarkable. He came
an infant from ireland with his parents
about 65 years ago. His people went
to Cincinnati, and Kissane was put to
work in Lot Pugh's big pork packing
house He finally became clerk in
Pugh's employment, and was consider
ed very bright and promising young
fellow. In 1847, he went into the pork |
packing business for himself with
man named Andrew Findlay.
Their business became an extensive
one for those days, and they made mon
s.,- ha,,1 ox-,,. - 1,11ax- 81 ,,,ool
Of their lard to New Orleans by boat.
In 1852 boat called the Martha Wash
ington, supposed to have been loaded
way down the Mississippi River took
fire and burned at Helena, Ark. One
passenger, who was said to be too drunk
to leave the boat, lost his life in the
flames. There was strong suspicion |
that Findlay and Kissane had loaded /
the boat not with lard, but with rubbish, |
and that the burning OF the boat was
the result OF conspiracy on the part OF
Findlay and Kissane to swindle the IN
surance companies.
The cargo, if of lard, would have been
worth nearly S100,0 900. Cummins, the
captain of the boat, was arrested at
Helena and tried for the murder of the
man who was burned to death. He was
acquitted. Then Findlay and Kissane
and another man named Lyman Cole,
who was interested in their business,
were tried in the United States Circuit
Court at Cincinnati in 1853 for conspir-
acv. They were defended by Gen.
Thomas Ewing, while the prosecution .
was conducted in person blythe then At
torney-General of the United States,
Henry Stanbury.
The trial lasted eight weeks and ks ,
sane and his associates were acquitted. !
But the insurance companies were not
They got Kissane in some
wav into Arkansas, and then had him ,
tried in Helena, as Cummins, the Cap !
tain of the Martha Washington was, for q,
murder He was again acquitted, and -,
the conspiracy and murder business was {
finally disposed of. ,
Then Kissane & Co. came to this city. |
They started in business here, and open {
ed large account at the Chemical Bank. (
They did all their banking business :
there, and were considered good and |
square customers. One day in the fore 8
part of 1854, Just as the bank was clos q
ing its doors for the day, Kissane came
in and presented check on the Ameri-
can Exchange National Bank for So, 900, :
drawn by John Thompson, and another
check on the Continental Bank for +.
81, $40, drawn by Very & Gwynne. The u,
checks were paid, and all but 1870 of the ,
amount in $500 bills. ;
Kissane took the money and left the !
bank. When the forgeries were discov- ,
cred, which was the next day, Kissane,
Cole and Findlay were, of course, no
where to be found The forgeries at
tracted a great deal of attention, not
merely in New York, but in the whole
country, and not merely as much from
the amount of money as from the parties
involved.
In the search for the forgers the best
detective talent of the country was EN-
ployed. Cole was caught in the South,
with 81, 600 of the money sewed in his
vest. Findlay was caught, but with no
money, and Kissane was finally captur-
ed in Cincinnati. On his way back to
New York with the officers he jumped
from the car window at Buffalo and got
away. After another skillfully managed
search he was discovered working as a
hired man for a farmer in Monroe coun-
ty. He got the farmer to change one of
his $500 bills, and this put the detec-
tives on his track When they arrested I
him the second time he restored what !
he had of the stolen money, $500. l
This made the bank out 1870, besides
its expenses.
The trial of Kissane, Findlay and Cole :
in the General Sessions here before old c
Recorder TillOu was remarkable one. :
They We're defended by Gen. Richard !
Busted. Kissane admitted his guilt, but : :
lid not turn States evidence. The fea- :
1lre Of the trial was the speech that Kis- :
,ane made in his own behalf. He was a =
all, handsome young fellow, with none =
If the look Of the criminal about him, =
md his bearing excited the sympathy Of :
he jury and thepublic. twas general
' thought at the time that Kissane was ;.
he tool of F'indlay and Cole. =
81 never heard such a speech in a r.
,ourt Of justice before or SINCE" said =
1en. Busted. cit was simply marvel =
,us. Kissane stood Mt the bar and told =
lis past life; of his early struggles for !,
livelihood; of his trials for conspiracy p
nd murder, and of his yielding to 7,
in New York when he was !
,resscd for money. He described his 81 8
ceilings during his wanderings, and : :
old where he went. =.
81 shall never forget the way in which u
Ie described his jumping from car
window while the car was i'll motion,
nd of his hiding In the woods like a
rembling hare while the men were
uniting for him At the close of his
peech the people in the courtroom "
airly Numbered their applause" n
That the speech was really very eff
ective one was shown afterward by the 9,
onfession of Recorder Tillou to his :,
-iends, that after the speech he sen q
snced Kissane to only two years and II
-ssssg i-,ss .4sr..,s; tsssEs5s-s he =
is,saclf, TO give Kissane Ave years. :
Kissane was pardoned after he had /
erved fourteen months in prison. He :
vent 10 California, changed his name,
Is, has been said, and solemniy resolved I
% merit the clemency that had been
shown him. Nobody knew that he
went to California, and probably no.
body ia the East would have ever heard
If him again had he not been recognized
in some manner by Gen. Francis Darr
Of San Francisco. Darr is civil en-
gineer, who was employed by the Hud-
son River Railroad Company before the
Wal, and served during the war on the
staff Of Gen. Rosecrans. He formerly liy-
ed in Cincinnati and knew Kissane there.
After his recognition of him, Darn
wrote 10 the Chemical Bank people here
saying that Kissane was "A man of large
lived III palace at Oakland
was big bug under his assumed name,
and that there was no reason why he